Living on Cape Cod is wonderful in many ways – the spectacular beaches, fantastic fishing (my other passion besides playing the guitar!), a laid back life style for the most part – but there are times when small frustrations can be seriously annoying. One such example is our lack of access to “smaller” movies. I dearly want to see the new Coen brothers latest, “Inside Llewyn Davis,” loosely based on the memoir of folk singer Dave Van Ronk. All the reviews have been great and I’ve watched a couple of specials on the movie on Showtime, including a broadcast of a concert at Town Hall in New York that took place last September and was produced by the great T-Bone Burnett, who was also the music producer of the movie. It featured a “who’s who” of the acoustic music scene, including such performers as Marcus Mumford, the Punch Brothers, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Joan Baez and many others. Just great music, much of which is featured in the movie. Also caught a documentary on the recording of the music for the movie. Can’t wait to see it! In lieu of seeing the movie, I am reading the book by Van Ronk on which the movie is based, “The Mayor of MacDougal Street.” It is very entertaining to say the least. I never made it to Greenwich Village in those days, although I did go a few times later in the 1960s. I did however catch many of the greats at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, ’65, ’68 and ’69. It was a magical time. Most of the great bluesmen are now long gone unfortunately but I feel privileged to have listened to them up close, something that was encouraged at the workshops at Newport in those days. In any case, I highly, highly recommend the book if you have interest in those days and how they affected what we hear in acoustic music right up to the present day. On a much smaller scale, I am encouraged to continue getting students both young and old who are enamored with the acoustic guitar. While I do teach electric styles (having played electric blues, rock and jazz for many years) I make no bones about acoustic guitar being my first love and my specialty. A continuing trend I’m seeing is new/older students who played in their younger days and are interested in picking up the guitar again as their situation, interests and commitment are quite different than in their younger days. I love it when these types of students see real progress on things they found frustrating when they were younger. It’s also fun to turn them on to recent acoustic music; in many cases they all but stopped listening to new music years ago due to not being able to relate to the over-produced and superficial nature of much of what is heard on the radio these days. There is some fine music being made by younger players right now. In fact, it feels to me like we are in something of a renaissance in acoustic guitar music. Younger musicians like Sarah Jarosz and the Milk Carton Kids are making fantastic music that combines traditional instrumentation with a very modern sense of harmony, arrangement and structure. So if you get a chance, see “Inside Llewyn Davis” and maybe we’ll be able to compare notes (no pun intended!) if it EVER gets to Cape Cod! Peace & good music, Gene

Sorry for not checking in for a while, just back from a brief vacation on beautiful St. Martin. Here are some random thoughts and observations about various music subjects, both personal and general. We didn’t hear a lot of music while in St. Martin but did catch a fun act at a restaurant in Maho Bay. They are a group of five guys (locals) called “Sweet Chocolate” and they’ve been something of an institution at the place for many years. They consist of basically one guy on keyboards and various recorded/computer tracks, plus four singers. They are a total “act” with costume changes and plenty of energy and humor. Although they sang plenty of Motown and reggae tunes, a highlight for me was when they did some authentic calypso tunes. If you are unfamiliar with this uniquely Caribbean music, it has a long history and there are even competitions in the form on some of the islands. It consists of basic major key chord changes with an infectious beat and the idea is that the singer comes ups with improvised verses. In the past it was quite political at times and going way back, was a way for slaves to express their frustrations with their lot. These days it’s usually much more humorous and often a bit risqué – the singer will pick out audience members to target. The singer was very, very talented and fun. He must have come up with about 40 verses, some of which were obviously rehearsed but many were created on the spot. He had particular fun with a large party of locals who were having a pre-wedding dinner. By the end of the song my face hurt from laughing so much! It was a really cool experience and just another example of why we love going to the Caribbean so much. If you ever get a chance to experience real calypso music, take it – my sense is that it is something of a dying musical form and uniquely part of the wonderful melting pot of Caribbean culture. On another note, I was recently turned on to a GREAT young singer/songwriter named Sarah Jarosz. Her recent album is terrific and the title song “Build Me Up From Bones” has been nominated for a Grammy as best contemporary folk song. Her alto voice and delivery are sublime and she is a fine player of mandolin, guitar and her primary instrument, a tenor mandolin. It is truly refreshing to hear such a wonderful and talented younger writer. I predict she will be around for a long, long time. Also check out (on You Tube) her cover of the great Paul Simon’s “Kathy’s Song.” Just amazing. She reminds me a bit of Gillian Welsh (not my favorite, but I like some of her songs) but with a more honest style and all round vibe. On a personal level, I’ve been doing my regular Saturday morning gig at the Daily Brew café in Cataumet and have been enjoying doing the Christmas tunes I’ve worked out. Obviously, I only get to play them at this time of year and although some of them are quite simple it’s always a challenge – a good one for me! – because they are so familiar and any mistakes are pretty obvious (!). In any case, the folks seem to enjoy them and I do too. I have been at the Brew for about three years now and even though it’s the “smallest” gig I have every played in terms of the venue I continue to love playing there more than any place I’ve ever performed, including concerts in front of many thousands of people. The atmosphere is warm and inviting and the coffee and food is damn good too! If you’re ever in the area, stop by! Peace & good music, Gene